The Cities of Eternal Fog

Walk in darkness, hunt in fog.

Fighting Style Staff Fighting

Prerequisites: Strength •••, Dexterity ••, Weaponry
••

Effect: Your character has learned to wield a quarterstaff,
bo staff or jo staff effectively in combat. This is
likely something she has learned from a martial practitioner.
This style is sometimes called bojutsu.
Dots purchased with this Merit allow access to
unique combat maneuvers with polearms. Each maneuver
is a prerequisite for the subsequent maneuver. Your character
cannot have “Temple Strike” until she has “Trip.”
These maneuvers and their effects are described below.
All maneuvers are based upon the Weaponry Skill.

Note that while a quarter-, bo or jo staff are the
norm for this fighting style, the maneuvers are not limited
to these weapons. A character can use any polearm for
these maneuvers, but using other polearms with an item
fighting style spetznaz knife fighting-fighting style staff fighting
that isn’t one of the aforementioned three staff types
requires an additional point of Weaponry (Weaponry
•••). A character can also utilize improvised polearms
(including post-hole diggers, scythes or other objects at
least five feet in length) with this maneuvers. In such
cases, the Weaponry ••• is still required, and all attack
rolls are made with the appropriate improvised weapon
penalties in place. Remember as well that utilizing a
polearm in combat grants the wielder a +1 Defense.

Trip (•): Your character can use her polearm to trip
a single opponent, hopefully sending him to the ground.
It is a contested roll pitting the character’s normal attack
roll against the opponent’s Dexterity + Athletics. The
character’s attack is penalized by the foe’s Defense, as
usual. If the opponent falls, assume Knockdown rules
(per p. 168, the World of Darkness Rulebook). In this
case, however, the fall to the ground incurs a single point
of bashing damage to the opponent.

Temple Strike (••): Your character brings her staff
against the side of her adversary’s head. The normal
–3 penalty to hit the head still applies, but if the damage
meets or exceeds the target’s Size, the target falls
unconscious for a number of turns equal to the damage
done. This damage is usually bashing, as it is meant to
be performed with a blunt staff. The damage can be
performed with a bladed weapon such as the naginata,
however. The effect is the same, but the damage is now
lethal instead of bashing.

Dangerous Radius (•••): With this technique,
your character can swing her weapon in a wide arc, hitting
anyone within three yards. Make a normal attack
roll for the character (Strength + Weaponry + weapon
bonuses). This roll receives a dice penalty equal to the
number of opponents hit with this strike (to a maximum
of –5 dice). Successes achieved on this roll are done as
damage to all within the three-yard radius. If the weapon
is a normal blunt polearm (i.e., a staff), it does bashing.
If bladed, the weapon causes lethal damage. Drawback:
This attack cannot distinguish between friend or foe.
Any allies within the three-yard radius are hit along with
enemies. The technique cannot be pulled to exclude
friends from the damage.